Revisiting the Enrica Lexie Award

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Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law

Join us for the latest webinar from IISTL, Swansea University

Flag State Jurisdiction, Incidental Jurisdiction, and the Protection of Merchant Vessels: Revisiting the Enrica Lexie AwardA little over a year ago, on 21 May 2020, an Arbitral Tribunal established pursuant to Annex VII of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea handed down its ruling on the merits regarding the Enrica Lexie incident.Its background was a case of mistaken identity with deadly results in the exclusive economic zone of India. There, Italian Marines, who were part of a vessel protection detachment (VPD) on the Italian flagged Enrica Lexie, opened fire on the St. Antony, thereby killing what they thought were two ‘pirates’, but who were in fact Indian fishermen.The Enrica Lexie was subsequently ordered to move into the territorial sea of India, where India exercised criminal jurisdiction and arrested two Italian Marines. The Tribunal’s Award dealt with a wide range of issues.Amongst these issues were the following:<ol><li>did the Tribunal have jurisdiction over the dispute?;</li><li>was the question of immunity of the Italian Marines within the Tribunal’s jurisdiction?;</li><li>did Italy or India, or perhaps both, have jurisdiction over the incident?;</li><li>did India’s acts amount to unlawful enforcement jurisdiction by a coastal state?;</li><li>did this incident fall under a “collision or any other incident of navigation” under Article 97 LOSC?; and</li><li>was Italy’s exclusive flag state jurisdiction breached?</li></ol>The Tribunal’s findings on whether it had incidental jurisdiction over the immunity of the Italian Marines has provoked significant academic attention, see, for instance, <a href="https://voelkerrechtsblog.org/de/incidental-jurisdiction-in-the-award-in-the-enrica-lexie-incident-italy-v-india-part-i/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">here</a> and <a href="https://www.ejiltalk.org/immunities-and-compromissory-clauses-making-sense-of-enrica-lexie-part-i/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">here</a>. However, for example, the Tribunal’s findings on the concept of exclusive flag State jurisdiction have been less in the limelight (but <a href="https://cil.nus.edu.sg/the-enrica-lexie-incident-award-and-exclusive-flag-state-jurisdiction-by-arron-n-honniball/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">see here</a>).This webinar sets out to provide a broad coverage of the various legal aspects connected to the Enrica Lexie Award. Also, it will look to the future, and consider the legacy of the Award. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------Speakers:<ul><li>Professor Maria Gavouneli (National &amp; Kapodistrian University of Athens)</li><li>Dr Arron N Honniball (Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law)</li><li>Dr James G Devaney (University of Glasgow)</li></ul>Moderator:<ul><li>Dr Youri van Logchem (Institute of International Shipping and Trade Law)</li></ul>

<h3>This event is supported by the European Society of International Law (ESIL) / Société Européenne de Droit International (SEDI).</h3>